Hugh Dillon Explained

Hugh Dillon
Image Upright:1.1
Birth Date:31 May 1963
Birth Place:Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Genre:Hard rock, rock 'n' roll
Occupation:Singer, actor, producer
Years Active:1987–present

Hugh Dillon (born May 31, 1963) is a Canadian singer, actor, and television producer. The lead vocalist of the rock bands Headstones and Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir, his notable acting roles include Mike Sweeney in Durham County, Edward "Ed" Lane in Flashpoint, Nick in Left 4 Dead 2, Duncan Sinclair in X Company, and Donnie Haskell in Yellowstone. He is also a co-creator, executive producer, and series regular of the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown.[1]

Early life

Dillon was born and grew up in Kingston, Ontario.[2] Dillon grew up living on the same street as future NHL star Doug Gilmour and played hockey with him on the frozen swamp in their neighbourhood. Dillon also played hockey with Paul Langlois,[3] future guitarist of The Tragically Hip. Dillon attended the Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute at the same time that David Usher, and members of The Tragically Hip such as Gord Downie attended the school.[4] After high school, Dillon briefly attended Queen's University[5] and lived in London, England, before moving to Toronto.[6] He now divides his time between there and Los Angeles.[7]

Music career

Dillon is the lead singer for rock band Headstones. Formed in 1987, the band's debut album Picture of Health was released in 1993 and featured the singles "When Something Stands For Nothing", "Cemetery", "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" and "Three Angels". The album was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, being certified platinum in Canada for selling in excess of 100,000 copies. In a recording career that has spanned three decades, the band has released ten studio albums and numerous chart-topping singles.

After the Headstones broke up in 2003, Dillon formed the band Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir, an indie rock band whose style draws from country, pop, punk and new wave influences. Band members were guitarist J.P. Polsoni, Chris Osti on bass, keyboardist Ben Kobayashi, and percussionist Derek Downham.[8] The band released an album, The High Co$t of Low Living, in 2005 through The Tragically Hip guitarist Paul Langlois's Ching Music label.[9] [10] Dillon also released a solo album entitled Works Well with Others in 2009 through Ching Music.

After their hiatus, original Headstones members (Dillon, Carr & White) reformed the band in 2011. In 2013, they crowdfunded their album, Love + Fury,[11] [12] through PledgeMusic. Love + Fury is the band's first top 10 album, and it garnered the band a No. 1 hit single. The Headstones followed up with another crowdfunded album in 2014, One in the Chamber Music. In 2015, Fuck It became the band's first-ever vinyl release.

Little Army was released on Cadence Music in 2017. The album included the No. 1 hit "Devil's On Fire". In 2019, the Headstones released Peopleskills, which yielded "Leave It All Behind" and "Horses", two No. 3 singles on the US Billboard charts.[13]

Acting career

Dillon's first large-screen acting role was in director Bruce McDonald's 1995 film Dance Me Outside.[14] He then played a leading role as Joe Dick in McDonald's 1996 feature film, Hard Core Logo.[15] [16]

Dillon has appeared in a number of feature films, including Lone Hero, Assault on Precinct 13, and .[17] In 2007, he was nominated for a 2007 Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in . He starred opposite Vera Farmiga in the Sundance Film Festival award-winning movie, Down to the Bone. Dillon has guest-starred on various television programs, including The Eleventh Hour, ReGenesis, and . He has also created voice-overs a number of television and radio advertisements.

Dillon starred as Mike Sweeney in the Canadian dramatic series Durham County.[18] His performance earned him a Gemini nomination for Best Actor in 2008;[19] the show itself won five Gemini awards and its second season was aired on TMN and Movie Central.

Dillon starred as Sergeant Ed Lane in the CTV/CBS police drama series Flashpoint, set in Toronto, which ran for five seasons between 2008 and 2012.[20] [21] Dillon won the "Shaw Media Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role" at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2014 for his performance in the episode "Fit for Duty" on Flashpoint.[22]

Dillon is the co-creator and Executive Producer of the streaming service series Mayor of Kingstown on Paramount Plus. On August 5 via Deadline[23] it was announced that Dillon would also become a series regular playing the role of Ian Ferguson, alongside Jeremy Renner, and he will return as Sheriff Donnie Haskell on season 4 of the cable series Yellowstone on Paramount, alongside Kevin Costner. He also played the role of Francis Becker on the third season of the American crime drama series, The Killing[24] opposite Joel Kinnaman, simultaneously appearing on Continuum. Dillon played a lead role for three seasons of CBC's X Company. Dillon has also appeared in Twin Peaks, the film Wind River alongside Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner, Syfy's The Expanse, and the films The Humanity Bureau and I Still See You.[25]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994Dance Me OutsideClarence Gaskill
1995Curtis's CharmSpitting White Trash Thug
1996Hard Core LogoJoe Dick / Joseph Mulgrew
1999JohnnyDell and Alice's Dad
2002Lone HeroKing
2004Down to the BoneBob
2004Reverend Gilbert
2005Assault on Precinct 13Tony
2006Hope and a Little SugarBar Construction Worker
2006Sonny
2008SurveillanceSteven
2008About FaceThe Agent
2008Down to the DirtRenny
2011IssuesBobbyShort film
2015data-sort-value="Offer, The" The OfferRichardShort film
2016Dark HarvestVincent
2017Wind RiverCurtis
2017data-sort-value="Humanity Bureau, The" The Humanity BureauAdam Westinghouse
2018I Still See YouMathison

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000Twitch CityHoward the Cannibal / Guy in the Convenience Store2 episodes
2002–2003Albert Manning3 episodes
2003Blue MurderKevin MarshallEpisode: "Necklace"
2003StarhunterGusEpisode: "Biocrime"
2004data-sort-value="Eleventh Hour, The" The Eleventh HourEddieEpisode: "Hard Seven"
2004data-sort-value="Love Crimes of Gillian Guess, The" The Love Crimes of Gillian GuessBobby TomahawkTV movie
2004data-sort-value="Wool Cap, The" The Wool CapLeather JacketTV movie
2004–2005ReGenesisDanny Dexter3 episodes
2005Our FathersJohnny DeFrancoTV movie
2007data-sort-value="Gathering, The" The GatheringDetective Gamble2 episodes
2007–2010Durham CountyMike SweeneySeries lead
2008data-sort-value="Quality of Life, The" The Quality of LifeJean TellierTV movie
2008Of Murder and MemoryVincent NicholTV movie
2008Ink: Alter Egos ExposedNarratorTV movie
2008–2012FlashpointEd LaneSeries lead
2013data-sort-value="Killing, The" The KillingFrancis Becker12 episodes
2013ContinuumMr. Escher7 episodes
2014Things You Shouldn't Say Past MidnightGene8 episodes
2015–2017X CompanyColonel Duncan SinclairSeries regular
2017data-sort-value="Expanse, The" The ExpanseLieutenant Sutton3 episodes
2017Twin PeaksTom PaigeEpisode: "Part 7"
2018data-sort-value="Detectives, The" The DetectivesDetective Rod PiukkalaEpisode: "Stranger Calling"
2018–presentYellowstoneSheriff Donnie HaskellSeries regular
2021–presentMayor of KingstownIan FergusonSeries regular, also Co-creator &Executive Producer

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2009Left 4 Dead 2NickValve
2012DishonoredCity WatchBethesda
2013Resident Evil 6NickCapcom X Valve Crossover DLC

Discography

Headstones

Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir

Solo

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hart. Courtney. January 20, 2020. Hugh Dillon Co-Created Show Gets Green Light from Paramount Network. kingstonherald.com.
  2. http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/season6/hugh_dillon.html "The Hour: Hugh Dillon"
  3. Web site: Hab at Heart: Paul Langlois. February 1, 2021. NHL.com. February 4, 2020 .
  4. Web site: Headstones song recalls halcyon early days in Kingston. February 1, 2021. thewhig.
  5. Web site: Hugh Dillon The Canadian Encyclopedia. February 1, 2021. thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
  6. Web site: Hampson. Sarah. 2013. Hugh Dillon and the mathematics of a happy life. The Globe and Mail.
  7. Web site: Headstones' Hugh Dillon Has Seen Some Shit. February 1, 2021. vice.com.
  8. https://www.straight.com/article-270381/vancouver/hugh-dillon-covers-lot-ground-works-well-others "Hugh Dillon covers a lot of ground on Works Well With Others"
  9. Book: Steve McLean. Hot Canadian Bands. June 2006. Lone Pine Pub. 978-1-894864-53-4. 62.
  10. . Chart Attack, June 7, 2005
  11. http://kingstonherald.com/entertainment/headstones-album-pledge-2010310819 "Fans Fund New Album for The Headstones"
  12. http://www.thewhig.com/2013/12/20/gasoline-and-fire "'Gasoline and fire'"
  13. Web site: Gerard. Steve. August 3, 2020. Headstones Single "HORSES" Gallops Up Billboard Chart.
  14. http://www.simcoe.com/whatson-story/6116805-hard-rocking-headstones-driven-by-soft-spot/ " Hard-rocking Headstones driven by soft spot"
  15. http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Artists/H/Headstones/2005/09/09/1209207-sun.html "Hugh Dillon changes direction"
  16. Book: Pike, David L.. Canadian Cinema Since the 1980s: At the Heart of the World. 2012. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division. 978-1-4426-1240-2.
  17. https://web.archive.org/web/20170331025556/http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Artists/H/Headstones/2003/04/15/745920.html "Headstones' Hugh is acting up again"
  18. http://exclaim.ca/music/article/durham_county_season_1-durham_county_season "Durham County: Season 1"
  19. http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/no-more-mr-tough-guy-1.775075 "No more Mr. Tough Guy"
  20. http://www.channelguidemag.com/tv-news/2009/08/19/hugh-dillons-intensity-rocks-durham-county/ "Hugh Dillon's intensity rocks "Durham County""
  21. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television-ripped-from-the-headlines/article1057221/ " Television ripped from the headlines"
  22. Web site: Flashpoint - Fit for Duty CTV (Bell Media) Hugh Dillon. January 26, 2015. academy.ca. Shaw Media. 2014. December 26, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141226092624/http://www.academy.ca/Canadian-Screen-Awards/2014-Nominees-Winners/Television.
  23. Web site: Denise. Petski. August 2021. 'Mayor Of Kingstown': Hugh Dillon, Pha'rez Lass & Tobi Bamtefa Join Cast As Production Begins On Taylor Sheridan's Series For Paramount+.
  24. Web site: 'Flashpoint's Hugh Dillon joins 'The Killing'. The Loop. June 3, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130630104739/http://www.theloop.ca/showbiz/tv-guide/article/-/a/1618186/-Flashpoint-s-Hugh-Dillon-joins-The-Killing-. June 30, 2013.
  25. Table 2: IMDB results.. 10.7717/peerj-cs.252/table-2. free.